Grand Junction Police Department Thanks Good Samaritans

The Grand Junction Police Department wants to thank the Good Samaritans who stopped to help during the head-on collision that happened on I-70 yesterday (June 20).

The accident happened around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, June 20 when a car was driving westbound in the eastbound lane of I-70 striking an SUV head on. The resulting accident sent the driver of the car, and drive and passenger of the SUV to the hospital with serious injuries.

Passerbys stopped to help the injured motorists, while others stopped to help with the fire caused by the accident.

A Grand Junction Police Department officer sent out an email detailing his experience at the crash site:

On 06/20/17 we responded to a head-on collision on I70 near the 27 Road overpass. It was reported one of the vehicles had ignited. When I arrived, a male was trapped in a Honda Accord near the median and a Ford sport utility vehicle in the eastbound lanes was fully engulfed. The fire quickly spread to the adjacent shoulder of the Interstate and began climbing the embankment toward homes on Marsh Lane and Continental Court.

Over a dozen motorists had stopped and extricated an adult female and juvenile (perhaps 5-7 years old) from the SUV and carried the woman to the shoulder of the roadway. The SUV was emitting loud “booming” and “popping” noises and I believe nearly everyone at the scene thought it could very well explode. The bystanders placed the female onto a tarp someone had provided and carried her westbound along the highway, away from the vehicle. Others stood with another tarp elevated over the female to shade her from the sun; temperatures were near 100 degrees. A nurse who had stopped placed the juvenile in her personal vehicle and remained with the child until EMS arrived. Had these individuals not acted so immediately and decisively, both the woman and her child would have surely perished.

I was later repositioned to 27 Road to conduct traffic control. I spoke with two males who had stopped on 27 Road to the north of I70 when they saw the fire on the southern embankment. The males had climbed numerous fences on the south side of I70 in an attempt to slow the fire and warn residents. I also spoke with others who had thrown buckets of water on the fire as well as some who used personal extinguishers in attempts to prevent the fire from threatening homes and property.

The overall response from bystanders was, I thought, magnificent. I regret that I was not able to obtain the names of all of those who provided assistance in this event. I was hoping, either through social media or mass communication, the Grand Junction Police Department could make an attempt to recognize and thank all of those who rendered their help in any way they could with this incident.”

If you know or were one of the Good Samaritans who helped on the scene, know that the Grand Junction Police Department and community appreciate what you did.